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At a time when many local mom and pop stores are fighting for survival, East Hampton Pharmacy on North Main Street in East Hampton is thriving. So much so that its owner, Frank Calvo, plans to open a second store in Bridgehampton in late August. The upcoming Bridgehampton Pharmacy will be a return to old-fashioned values and personalized care, he said.
“It was always my dream to have my own apothecary,” said Mr. Calvo this past Sunday morning. With a second pharmacy on the way, he will have twice as much to smile about come late August, when his Bridgehampton mom and pop “apothecary” opens on Main Street, next to Sotheby’s Real Estate.
“The Bridgehampton store will have the same ambience and old-world charm of the East Hampton store: wood floors, wooden fixtures, and glass shelves,” said Mr. Calvo. “I’m very much looking forward to opening the new store. I’ve received welcoming feedback via many different avenues.”
Some Bridgehampton residents will remember Sivigny’s, later Pape’s, the local pharmacy that operated for years in an old Main Street building next to what used to be the Bridgehampton Bank. After Pape’s closed, Main Street was left with one pharmacy—White’s, also a local favorite, which became Bridgehampton Pharmacy before it was closed. Rite Aid is the only local pharmacy in Bridgehampton now, drawing customers from Main Street for years.
Frank Calvo hopes to bring some of them back with his high-end merchandising and a charming if not luxurious retail ambiance. He’s just the kind of pharmacist to try. He instantly dispels any preconceived ideas of how a pharmacist is supposed to look. He is a fit, handsome, and understatedly stylish, yet down-to-earth man with an irrepressible smile.
He does not wear square black-rimmed glasses, scuffed oxfords, a short-sleeved, white shirt with a pen in the pocket and an ink stain. And by extension, East Hampton Pharmacy is not a stereotypical drugstore, designed for efficiency. Among the many special sections, for example, is an area devoted to Oprah’s favorites, designed to quell one’s craving for large, beautiful soaps with colorful wrappers placed in equally colorful ceramic dishes imported from Portugal.
East Hampton Pharmacy opened a little more than five years ago. “At the time, I was the vice president of a pharmaceutical mail order corporation based in Minneapolis,” he said. “I was living in Miami, but covered Texas to Milwaukee, and Boston to Florida. I loved what I did then. My main focus was HIV-AIDS, women’s help, cancer-oncology, and infertility ... Then one day, I received a call from a friend informing me that ... a store in East Hampton was available. The following weekend, I was here. The weekend after that, I signed my lease. That was a little over five years ago.”
Mr. Calvo is clearly enthusiastic about his business and his new life, “I love getting up every day. I love fulfilling the challenges that each day presents. One of the things I’m grateful for is that our business is not dependent upon the summer community. The support of the local, year-round community has created our success.”
Mr. Calvo addressed the issue of his competition in Bridgehampton with his usual aplomb. “There’s a big difference between a chain and a mom and pop. I think what I do is make an extra effort to know my customer and have them get to know me. Giving my customers the kind of respect and knowledge they deserve is foremost in my mind. As a pharmacist, you have a wealth of information in many different areas, which I am willing to share. A pharmacist is there to advise.”
Mr. Calvo spent his childhood in Ridgewood, Queens. He majored in pharmacy at St. John’s University, and then made a decision to go into marketing and sales for the Upjohn Company. He moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1987, and later returned to the East Coast, settling in Manhattan, where he became involved with HIV care management as a clinical pharmacist. He also dealt with problems of infertility and chronic illness. His position as vice president of a pharmaceutical mail order company followed.
Today, Mr. Calvo is a resident of The Springs where he lives quietly with his three-year-old black Lab called Annie. “I’m a single man with Lab,” he quipped. Asked whether he brings her to the pharmacy, he responded, “Sometimes I do. She’s very friendly. People know and love her. But she enjoys the pool and the doggie door and she’s quite happy at home.”
Mr. Calvo’s parents and older sister live in East Northport. Once a week, his mother travels to East Hampton to help out at the store, where she can be found on Wednesday through Friday.
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